Honba Automatic Voltage regulator - what use is this for?

[dicky96]

Hi guys
One of my customers sent me a pic of a Honba SVC-1000 Automatic Voltage Regulator today and asked me what it is.

Hmmm... Aye... Well... I said, (not wanting to look stupid)......that's an Automatic Voltage Regulator that is

So he says, aaahhhh in that case then, seeing as you know what it is, you can have it... for free.

So it looks like I am now the proud owner of an Automatic Voltage Regulator arriving next week

But what possible use is this thing? Google told me.... once I insisted I really really did NOT want to look up HONDA SVC-1000, absolutely nothing useful at all

So, what is it - and don't some clever sod tell me it's a bloody Automatic Voltage Regulator!!!

Sorry pic is shite - it was from whatsapp and looked OK on my phone it has 1x 110V output and 2x 220V total power 1000VA

[diif]

Re: Honba Automatic Voltage regulator - what use is this for?

So, what is it - and don't some clever sod tell me it's a bloody Automatic Voltage Regulator!!!

It's a voltage regulator that's automatic

Used to regulate the voltage in critical situations or where fluctuations are undesirable.

[ChaosLegionnaire]

Re: Honba Automatic Voltage regulator - what use is this for?

i guess u could use it if u were in a third world country and your power grid or ac line is unstable. the avr will help to prevent and reduce brownouts of the ac line, so this should make the apfc circuit and primary caps on smps last longer.

[petehall347]

Re: Honba Automatic Voltage regulator - what use is this for?

i could do with one of those for plugging in stuff i work on .

[redwire]

Re: Honba Automatic Voltage regulator - what use is this for?

I have seen audio/video AVR's that have a variac inside with a motor to move the wiper automatically to keep output voltage reasonable.
Others use an autotransformer with relays that will switch-in say a 10VAC boost or cut to help with brownouts. These are kind of useless because they have three output levels.

Either way, the thing is surely heavy, filled with crappy capacitors or dead relays.

[dicky96]

Re: Honba Automatic Voltage regulator - what use is this for?

Well let's see - because it's mine now apparently - so next week I'll open in up and see what's inside it.

i guess u could use it if u were in a third world country and your power grid or ac line is unstable.

Ahh it's made for use in the UK then

So it's not an isolation transformer, as well as being a voltage regulator?

@petehall347
Well if it's no use to me it could find it's way to you for the cost of the postage

[petehall347]

Re: Honba Automatic Voltage regulator - what use is this for?

@petehall347
Well if it's no use to me it could find it's way to you for the cost of the postage

postage and customs cost might be more than i can afford .
thanks .

[stj]

Re: Honba Automatic Voltage regulator - what use is this for?

i would say it's either a multi-tapped isolation transformer with a bunch of triacs or relays,
or it's a transformer with an "interference" winding that can fuck with the field - although those can usually only drop the voltage and not boost it.
a lot of big generators use this method instead of regulating rpm.

[dicky96]

Re: Honba Automatic Voltage regulator - what use is this for?

Well if it's an isolation transformer then that is useful to me, even though I already have a 220V:220V 2KVA under one of my benches

@petehall347
Yeah.... I can say postage from the Post Office (Correos) here, to UK and probably most other international destinations, is €40 for first 5Kg, then €3.50 per kilo up to maximum of 30Kg. The package can be quite large.

When using post office, normally there is no customs as I send it as faulty for spares or repair. I just sent 19 motherboards over a couple weeks ago, plus a load of other bits (CPUs, GPUs) as 'used computer parts for repair' in one 30Kg package - so I know for sure. It took 6 days though they say normally 10-15 days.

[SMDFlea]

Re: Honba Automatic Voltage regulator - what use is this for?

found some info

https://webcache.googleusercontent.c...-/303387855478

https://hossoni.en.alibaba.com/

Hongbao Electric Group Co ,Zhenhua is one of their own brands.HONBA is probably a clone made by Zhejiang Honba Electric Co

[dicky96]

Re: Honba Automatic Voltage regulator - what use is this for?

Yeah it does look just like one of those. Probably not any use for anything (to me) if it's a tapped auto-transformer and not worth the cost of posting it somewhere else either by the looks of it. Still it's caused a little interest on this forum so I will post some pics once I get it.

[stj]

Re: Honba Automatic Voltage regulator - what use is this for?

it says servo motor, so it must be a reostat or variac.
sounds usefull.

if not then the case is nice!

[Per Hansson]

Re: Honba Automatic Voltage regulator - what use is this for?

You win the potato picture award of the century with the picture in your OP dicky96!!!
As stj says the ad on eBay linked by SMDFlea says it has a servo control so must be a variac, really useful device then!

[dicky96]

Re: Honba Automatic Voltage regulator - what use is this for?

I can't wait until Tuesday comes along.........

[R_J]

Re: Honba Automatic Voltage regulator - what use is this for?

It is likely similar to the one in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdtjdoDtNgE. Basically a servo motor driving a variac